A Time for Courage
by Cascade of Dreams
Summary: My original fanfiction. Kiara, Bruce and Heather live normal lives, until a meteor almost kills them. Now, the Autobots are trying to hunt down the Allspark with their help. Though, killer robots, exploding buildings, government agents, and secret conspiracies are not what they had in mind. Incorporates all series. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers_ or any of its characters, except the ones you've never heard of (Kiara, Bruce, Heather, Nick, Brandon, Stalk, Strike, Blitzblade, Diamondshard, Wolfstrider, etc.).

Summary: Kiara, Bruce and Heather live normal lives, until a meteor almost kills them. Now, they are brought into the care of the Autobots as they try to hunt down the Allspark. Though, killer robots, exploding buildings, and resurrections are not what they had in mind…

Author's Note: One day I felt like writing a Transformers story, and it has evolved into this story. This is an original fan fiction, so it basically contains info from all of the series I've watched and what I've looked up. After this story, I have about five more planned out, so I hope someone likes these. This is the first book in my _Spark of Primus Saga_. I hope you enjoy, and may your spark always burn bright.

* * *

**This is the first book in the _Spark of Primus Saga_**

* * *

**1**

Nothing. A planet was there, but it was cold, lifeless. Like many other planets, except for one difference. Life, if not life as you know it, once populated the cold, dark planet only a couple million years ago. That was before the Great War.

The being called Optimus Prime watched the dead planet spin in its orbit through his lenses. He watched it from an asteroid only a few million miles away. He watched the planet he had once called home on its continuous orbit. Never stopping, even when life on it had been extinguished like a candle. It had a name that the beings like Optimus Prime had called when they lived on it. They had called it Cybertron.

Optimus Prime turned around and looked at his remaining Autobots. There weren't many. All that was left was him, Jazz, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Ratchet, Arcee, Prowl, Bumblebee, Stalk, and Strike. The Decepticons were gone, and all that remained was this ragtag bunch of Autobots. Everyone's blue lenses were dull with defeat.

"Autobots," Optimus droned, "don't lose hope. It may be all we have left. We have to follow the Decepticons and find the All-Spark before Megatron. Then we will find another planet to call home."

Optimus was taller than most of the 'bots. Ironhide and Bulkhead were about his height, but not nearly the same physique. He towered over the small 'bots; Bumblebee, Jazz, Arcee, and Stalk. Ratchet, Prowl, and Strike were somewhere in the middle. Not one Autobot was the same.

"We need to get going through the universe." Optimus looked at his comrades. "Bulkhead, Ironhide, Ratchet and I will be pulled by Strike. Stalk, you pull Arcee, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Jazz."

Bulkhead threw Strike a chain, and everyone who he was pulling grabbed on. Stalk looked over at Prowl. "Prowl, grappling hook." Prowl shot a length of rope out from where his belt would be. Stalk grabbed the end and wrapped it around her own waist. The ones who were to go with her grabbed the wire.

Optimus turned away from Cybertron and gazed into the vastness of space. "Autobots, move out." Everyone pushed off the asteroid. Strike activated the jets on his wings, and two jet thrusters came from Stalk's lower back. They lit them, and the Autobots' headed out into space.

* * *

Optimus stood on an asteroid once again, thousands and thousand of light-years away from his home. The Autobots were now observing a small planet the natives called Earth. Optimus looked over at his Autobots. "We may have found another planet to call home. Earth. Bulkhead, can you drill a hole in this asteroid?"

"Yes Optimus."

"Strike, get behind it and send it towards Earth."

"Of course."

"Bumblebee, go and scout out the planet." Bee saluted.

The Autobots' climbed into the hole Bulkhead had made and prepared for a long journey

* * *

Eh, this looked longer on Word. Oh well. I guess most chapters will be about this length, but hopefully contain a lot of meat in them.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

"Turn the music down!" Kiara clapped her hands over her ears and groaned._ I'll never be able to study with this racket blasting in my ears!_ Kiara flipped her brown hair over one shoulder and tried to concentrate on her work, but it wasn't going well with her roommate playing music loud enough to wake the dead.

Another girl popped her head around the door to the bathroom. "What?" Her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail and headphones covered her ears.

"Please turn the music down, Heather."

"Alright." Heather turned the music down to a level that would wake only the dead with sensitive ears. Kiara touched the square charm around her neck and sighed. She went back to her homework. "Hey," Heather flopped on the bed, "what are you majoring in again?"

"Archaeology," Kiara clenched her fists around her charm. "And everyone knows you are majoring in music."

Heather rolled her eyes. "I was trying to keep it a secret."

"Don't you have homework to do?"

Heather huffed and turned off the radio. She sat at her desk and piled a bunch of papers together. Kiara thanked her silently for turning it off. She pulled something up on her computer that caught her attention immediately. She looked over at her roommate.

"Heather?" Kiara asked.

Heather turned in her chair. "I'm listening."

"There's a meteor shower tomorrow night; would you like to come with me?"

"Sure. Can Bruce come too?"

Kiara rolled her eyes, "Whatever." Bruce was Kiara's once friend, and now was Heather's "boyfriend". Boys.

Did Kiara believe in aliens? Not sure. She was sure there could be life on other planets, but she didn't know if there was. Some theorists sounded out of their minds, but who was she to criticize?

_Nothing ever happens,_ she thought as she closed her book. _Maybe tomorrow will be better with the meteor shower._

* * *

A man with red hair and brown eyes stepped into a dark alley. He was wearing a nice suit, but he leaned against the grimy wall anyway. He sighed, and a white cloud floated into the sky. A jet landed nearby, and he headed for it. The jet shifted, transformed, into a huge robot. It glared down at the human with glowing red eyes.

"What do you want, fleshling?" the robot droned.

"Your help, and call me Brandon," the man smiled.

"Decepticons don't usually partner up with humans, so what do you want?"

"I want to give you an opportunity. I know where the All-Spark is."

The robots lenses focused. "What do you want in return for this information?"

Brandon's eyes glinted, "A high place in your empire."

The robot smiled, "Done. And what about Lord Megatron?"

"I know where he is too." The robot got onto all fours. "What should I call you?"

"Starscream," the robot replied before he transformed. When he flew away, Brandon turned, his coat flapping in the wind, and raced away into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

Kiara cruised down the road in her dad's old Explorer. She was headed to a great spot to watch the meteor shower, and no one else would be there. Except for one other person. Between Kiara's Explorer and Bruce's black truck, where Heather also rode, was a yellow Camaro with black racing stripes. _Nice ride,_ she thought as she adjusted her mirror for a better look. _He must know this spot too._ Kiara shrugged and kept driving.

She parked on top of a hill and got out of the car. Bruce parked next to her and the Camaro guy parked a little ways away. Heather stepped out of the car, "Is this where the meteor shower is going to be?"

Kiara covered her eyes and looked at the sky, "Yep, this is it. Just a few more minutes before it is dark and we can see them." All three of them went to the front side of the hill and lay back in the soft grass.

"So what's so exciting about this?" Heather blew a leaf away from her face.

"Meteors streaking across the sky? What's better than that?"

Heather shrugged. "Music?"

"Just wait; it'll be great." Heather half-smiled and they turned their eyes back to the sky. The soft gold and pink in the sky started to fade to a dark blue, and finally to black. The soft white glowing sliver of moon started to rise, and stars started to blink into the blanket of nighttime. The air cooled off, but not to an uncomfortable level. Kiara put binoculars to her eyes and studied the stars. After a little while, white stars started streaking across the sky.

"Wow," Heather's mouth fell open, and Bruce's eyes widened. Kiara smiled and took the binoculars from her eyes. She heard the purring of the engine as the Camaro's engine ran. Kiara sighed. This was as close to paradise as she might get.

"What's that?" Bruce pointed into the sky.

"Where?" Kiara and Heather said in unison.

"There." He thrust his finger emphatically into the night.

"Hold on." Kiara held up the binoculars to her eyes.

"To the left," Bruce directed.

"I don't-"

"Now up."

"This is ridiculous."

"A little to the right…"

Suddenly, something caught her eye. "Wait a minute…"

"Do you see that? What is it?" Bruce sounded exhilarated.

"It looks like…" Kiara broke off. It was a meteor, but it was much closer than any others she had seen that night. In fact, it kind of looked like it was coming towards them. It looked really close with the binoculars.

"Ummm, Kiara," Heather shook her shoulder. "It's coming right towards us."

Kiara removed the binoculars from her eyes and saw the meteor headed right for them. The Camaro's engine revved up a couple times.

"Run!" Bruce hollered. They stood up and scrambled up the hill in a panic. Kiara ran to the Camaro and pounded on the window. "Look out!" she screamed, but it was choked back when she saw no one was inside. The engine revved again.

Heather grabbed her hand, "Get behind the truck!" Kiara was dragged along and shoved to the ground behind Bruce's big truck. Everyone, not caring for personal boundaries, was huddled together. The Camaro drove up to them and opened its doors.

Bruce shivered, "There's no-"

"Driver?" Kiara finished. A boom echoed as the meteor hit the ground. "I think it, whatever it is, wants us to get in."

Heather tightened her grip, "Should we get in?"

Bruce stood up, "I think we should. Maybe it will give us answers. Do you have a better option?"

The girls didn't say anything, and he slid into the passenger seat. The girls slid into the back. The doors slammed and the car drove off. Nobody cared where they were going; only that they got there soon. Soon, luckily, they ended up in a small forest. The car opened its doors, and they scrambled out. Then, something amazing happened.

The car started to shift, to morph, to change. It looked like someone doing origami at high speed with a battered toy car. Then, where the car had been, stood a huge, bipedal robot. The kids' mouths and eyes opened wide at the same time. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Because they had never seen anything like it.


	4. Chapter 4

4

The robot fixed its lenses on them. Their hearts jumped into their throats. "What does it want?" Heather asked in a gasping whisper. No one bothered to answer, because no one knew. They could hear a rumbling in the distance, and they held each other tighter.

The first one to come was a sleek silver sports car. That was followed closely by and emergency vehicle. Then a black truck and an army green colored Hummer came over. In a trio, three motorcycles came over the horizon. One was the biggest, black and gold. The second one was mostly blue with a little bit of silver, and a little slimmer then the first one. The last one was a very sleek white one with a black lightning bolt on its front. They drove perfectly in sync and parked near the others. The last to arrive was a huge semi with a large compartment attached to the back. The other vehicles parted and let it through. It stopped a couple meters in front of them, and then all the vehicles started to transform.

The Autobots stood up and started to download the Internet into their processors. It only took a couple seconds. They glanced at each other, and the semi opened the huge compartment it had been carrying. Another 'bot crawled out and straightened up. Unlike the others, it had huge jet wings on its back, and it was a dark blue color with silver flames on it. It stepped back and let the semi have the spot light.

It bent down and spoke something indistinguishable. Heather looked over at Bruce, "What is it saying?"

Kiara arched her eyebrow, "It's Mandarin Chinese. Haven't you taken a foreign language?"

"No," they both answered at the same time. All three of them pulled away from each other a bit. Heather turned to Kiara, "What did he say?"

Kiara opened her mouth to answer, but the robot interrupted her. "I said I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots; the ones who surround you now. We come from a planet called Cybertron and have now arrived here on Earth."

Everyone's mouth dropped open as much as their jaws allowed. Bruce swallowed, "You're…aliens?"

"In the way you perceive it," Optimus replied. He straightened up. Optimus swept his hand along the line of Autobots, naming them as he went. "This is my first lieutenant, Jazz." The silver sports car bowed. Next were the truck and the Hummer in turn. "This is Ironhide and Bulkhead, our weapons and destruction experts." Then it was the emergency vehicles turn. "This is our medic, Ratchet." The motorcycles were introduced in order. "This is Prowl, Arcee, and Stalk. Arcee and Stalk are the only female Autobots." Last it was the Camaro and the jet-robot. "This is Bumblebee, you've already met him. This is Strike, our only jet transforming Autobot, and Stalk's older brother. You now know who we are; now who are you? Bumblebee must have picked you for a reason." The yellow robot nodded his head.

Bruce stepped forward, "I'm Bruce, and this is Heather and Kiara."

Optimus nodded, "Welcome Bruce, Heather, and Kiara. You are now in the care of the Autobots."

Kiara smiled, "That's great, but I have one question."

"Ask away."

"Who are you guys?"


	5. Chapter 5

5

Prime stepped back and a light came from his chest. A hologram of a cube glowed in the dim light of the stars. The Autobots' eyes glowed blue in the night. Kiara had been so terrified she hadn't noticed the beauty of these alien robots. They were like nothing she had ever seen.

"This is The Cube, or Allspark," Optimus began. "It is as old as the universe itself. It was the start of our race; established on a far off planet we called, Cybertron. For countless thousands of years our race prospered on Cybertron; until the Decepticons came into the picture. They are led by my brother, Megatron. They wanted to use the Cube to take over the universe. That's when the war began.

"For thousands of years the war raged and ravaged the planet; until finally few were left and the Cube was lost to the stars. Our planet was no longer able to support many forms of life. Megatron followed the Cube here, and we are not sure where either of them is. Our job now is to find the Cube and destroy it before Megatron can use it for his own plans." The hologram faded away.

Bruce looked around, "So, he's a bad guy?"

"No duh," Heather put her hands on her hips.

"Will you hurt us?" Bruce looked up at the Autobots.

"Not while our sparks are live and we still have control of our circuitry."

"Well," Kiara looked down at her shoes, "what does this have to do with us?"

This time, Ratchet stepped up. "If Megatron gets his hands on the Cube, he will populate the Earth with our life forms and extinguish the human race." Heather grabbed her neck.

"Well we should figure out where to look first." Kiara opened a map. "We could head to the nearest mountain peak. There should be a good signal up there for whatever your guys' instruments are."

"That's a good idea," Ratchet agreed. "Optimus?"

"Autobots," Optimus looked around. "Roll out." He got onto his hands and knees, transforming into his semi form.

Bruce's mouth quirked in a smile, "I've got dibs on Ironhide!" He hurried over to the large black pick-up.

"I call Arcee!" Heather jumped onto the blue motorcycle and pulled the helmet over her eyes.

Kiara wasn't sure who to go to, but her feet walked over to Optimus. She ran her hand over the smooth metal and thought about all the power and intelligence under the exterior. She opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. The interior was slightly more advanced than a normal semi's. She smiled.

"Would you like to drive or should I?" Optimus asked.

Kiara hugged herself. "You can. I can't drive a semi."

"Would you prefer to ride with another Autobot?"

"No, I'm fine." Kiara fastened her seat belt and sat back. She watched in amazement as the gas pedal pushed down and the wheel turned on its own. "How can you drive like that?"

Optimus took a moment before he answered. "It's like you learning to walk. It becomes automatic after a little while."

"I hope you're not one of those crazy drivers."

"Only in emergencies."

Kiara ran her thumb over the Autobot symbol where the horn would be on the steering wheel. "This is the Autobot symbol, right? What does the Decepticon symbol look like?"

A hologram appeared on the dashboard. Kiara reached out as if to touch it, but her fingers stopped centimeters away from it. She let her hand fall. "Do you know where Megatron is?"

The hologram faded. "I don't know. There is no indication of him. I'm not sure where he went."

Kiara sat there for a while and thought. "Can I turn on some tunes?"

"If you would like."

Kiara turned on the radio and turned it to her favorite station. Kiara stared at the steering wheel as the Styx and Elton John songs whispered softly into her ears. Finally she steeled her courage and grabbed onto the wheel. As she drove, Optimus gently guided her on what to do and when to do it. Heather, Bruce, and the other Autobots' followed in a straight line behind them. All too soon they arrived.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys! I hope many of you are reading this. If you aren't that's okay. If you are, I'd love some feedback! I can make changes in later chapters, and I just want to know if this is a good story after all! Thanks a bunch!**

* * *

**6**

Kiara stepped out of Optimus and her feet crunched on the gravel. Optimus transformed and stood up to look around. In succession each Autobot came up, transformed, and looked around as well. Ratchet looked at some instruments on his arm.

"So," Heather strolled over, "the Decepticons are evil, right?"

"Yes," Optimus replied. "And by my spark I hope you never meet them."

"Optimus," Ratchet said, "There is a faint energon signal to the west."

"It could be the Allspark." Optimus gazed around. "We shall transport our human friends back to where they need to be, and then head for that Energon signal." The Autobots transformed, and Heather and Bruce hurried to their 'bots. Kiara turned and opened Optimus' door.

As they drove, Kiara started to feel more confident in driving an eighteen wheeler. "Do you have any plans Optimus?"

"Bumblebee has contacted one of your government agents, and we plan to meet with him."

"Good start," Kiara gazed out the window. A jet flew overhead. Something caught her eye. There was a creepy looking car with a huge claw coming out of the top. "Uh oh," Kiara breathed, "trouble."

* * *

"Optimus," Ratchet called, "it's a Decepticon."

"Stay in formation," Optimus said.

"We have to get him off our tail," Ironhide complained.

"Stalk, get up here," Optimus commanded.

The white motorcycle poured on the speed and pulled up next to Optimus. Its armor gleamed. "Yes, Optimus?"

"I want you to get that Decepticon off of our tail."

"No problem."

* * *

"Starscream," Brandon said, "What are those vehicles doing there? This is a usually deserted road." He was in the cockpit of Starscream's jet form.

"Hmmm," he mused from the dashboard, "it could be…No, and I haven't seen them since we left Cybertron."

" Who?"

"The Autobots."

* * *

The motorcycle braked and let the rest of the Autobots passed her. Then she spun around and headed for the hummer. It transformed and headed for her. She transformed as well.

"Ah, Bonecrusher," she cruised along with him. Both of them were cruising on wheels. "Shall we duke it out?' He thrust the claw in her direction, and she jumped over it. "I'll take that as a yes."

Blades came from below her wrist and stretched all the way past her elbow. She spun in midair and severed the claw on his back. He let out a metallic screech of agony. Even though he was twice Stalk's size, she was five times his speed. He was way out of his league.

Stalk finished her spin and jumped back up, kicking him in the face. He landed on his back, and she landed on top of him. She swung one of the blades down and took off one of his arms. In a couple more swings she took off his other arm and some slashes across the torso. She jumped off of him, turned, and fired a plasma burst at him. She turned around again, and he exploded behind her. "Too easy," she said, transformed, and raced to catch up with the other Autobots.

* * *

"That was your Decepticon force? That was your plan?" Brandon asked.

"A minor setback," Starscream droned.

"That…that…Autobot just destroyed Bonecrusher!" Brandon's voice was high pitched and hysterical.

"All in time," Starscream assured. "All in time."


	7. Chapter 7

7

"_Homo erectus_ was the first hominid to control fire and make tools," Professor Teel droned. He sounded more robotic than the Autobots.

Kiara sighed through her nose and looked around. She was usually attentive and always taking notes, but today felt dull and everything was shades of gray. She wondered if she could get out early today.

She looked around, her gaze finally falling onto the paper in front of her she was supposed to be taking notes on. She picked up the pencil next to the college ruled (how appropriate) paper. She laid the pencil on the white breaking up the wood pattern of the desk and began sketching what was on her mind. Obviously, it was the Autobots.

Kiara was pretty talented at drawing. She started by sketching the Autobot symbol that the bots carried proudly on them. Then, she began to add the body, arms, and head. She became completely absorbed in the drawing.

"Alright," Professor Teel said dully, "you may compare notes for the remainder of the class." A black haired girl in front of Kiara turned around in her seat and smiled.

"Hey, Emma," Kiara said absently, finishing her doodle.

Emma glared at Kiara's paper, "What are you doing? Why weren't you taking notes?"

Kiara sighed, "My heart's not in it today, Emma."

Emma looked sympathetically at her friend, "That's okay; I'll write you a copy of mine."

Kiara smiled, "Thanks."

Emma looked down at the sketch on Kiara's paper. It showed Optimus in front with Jazz, Bulkhead, Arcee and Prowl standing behind him. "What did you draw?"

"Something that was in my head."

"They're cool."

"They are amazing."

Emma shrugged, "They're just machines, though, aren't they?"

"Yay," Kiara's voice grew dull and she wanted to end this conversation. "They're just machines," she agreed dully, though she had not thought of them as such recently.

* * *

"What are we going to do, Prime?" Ironhide asked. "We aren't dragging Hannah, Bruce, and Kiara into this war, are we?"

The Autobots were in vehicle form, heading towards their rendezvous with a government agent. Optimus took a moment before he replied. "As long as we can help it we will not let them into this war. It may not be for long, though, Ironhide."

Ironhide lapsed into silence. No other Autobots dared to think of what would happen to their human friends if they were pulled into this Cybertronian war. And no one dared asked the dreaded question: Where is Megatron?

They pulled into the abandoned parking garage and waited, engines rumbling. The door to their right opened and a man in a black suit stepped in. His hair was black and parted business-like, but his blue eyes were warm and smiling; not something usually seen during work hours.

"Hello?" he said, looking at the lineup of vehicles in the garage. "Are you who I am supposed to meet?" He looked expectantly at the car doors.

Optimus projected his voice towards the human, "We are here to ask your help, Nicholas Brunt. We need a place to stay."

His smile faltered when someone failed to appear from any of the vehicles. Even the drivers on the motorcycles hadn't moved. "Please, call me Nick. What, do you need like a house or something? I can help you with that."

Optimus paused as if he was pondering the idea. "I was thinking something, bigger." Then, he transformed right in front of Nick. The towering shape of Optimus Prime crouched down to avoid bumping into the ceiling. Nick's jaw drop open, and he felt around, trying to close it.

Nick swallowed, trying to keep his composer, "I think I can help you."

Kiara burst out of the school doors and into the warm sunlight. On the curb, engines purring softly, sat Arcee, Bumblebee, and Prowl. Kiara was the first out, so she got the first pick. She swung her leg over Prowl's seat, and pushed the helmet over her head. Hannah and Bruce came out a few minutes later, getting into Arcee and Bumblebee respectively.

They started driving away, and Kiara looked at the symbol in between the handles. "Where are we headed, Prowl?"

"A place a friend got for us," he replied, speeding into the traffic of the after school rush.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Prowl zoomed towards a building after being restricted in the after-school traffic. He had been really annoyed and it took everything Kiara had not to have him transform and WALK through the traffic. Arcee and Bumblebee had probably been equally annoyed.

"What is up with the traffic?" Prowl asked. His voice was steadier, but anger still shook it.

Kiara shrugged, "Everyone drives a car in college." She looked around, "Where are we going?"

"An abandoned bunker."

They drove outside of town and came to what looked like a metal hemisphere. Prowl drove around the backside and through the entrance. Inside he transformed and set Kiara gently on the ground. Bumblebee and Arcee did the same with Hannah and Bruce.

Kiara looked around the bunker. It was a simple metal structure, starting to be filled with Ratchet's stuff. He was working on something now. Kiara noticed, though, something was missing. "Where's Optimus?" she asked. "And Ironhide, and Strike?"

"On a mission," Bulkhead replied. No one said anything more.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Cruellock roared.

"I'm going to the Energon signal, aren't I?" Blitzwing motioned. His head looked like a Jack 'o lantern on Halloween.

"No, you're not," Blitzblade groaned. "You're going the wrong way." He was a large, black Decepticon that could transform into a helicopter or a powerful tank.

"We were told to search THIS Energon signal by Starscream," Cruellock snarled. He was a large and powerful red Decepticon that could transform into a Giganotosaurus.

Blitzwing's head flipped 180 degrees to reveal a normal looking face with a monocle over one eye. He was a medium sized purple Decepticon that could transform into a jet or a tank. "I was just trying to help," his voice held a slight whining tone.

Cruellock shook his head, "Let's just get this job done so that we can get back to base."

"Are you two going to sit there chatting all day?" Blitzblade asked, already on a course to Venus.

"Coming," they both chimed, jetting over to him.

* * *

Strike fired his rockets in the vacuum of space. "We have to go to Mars?" Strike asked. He was hauling Optimus Prime and Ironhide behind him.

"That's where a strong Energon signal is coming from," Optimus replied.

"Got it," Strike said flatly, "Full speed ahead." They where gone maybe days, maybe weeks, it all felt the same to them after a millennia of space travel. They would know once they got back to earth.

Strike angled himself and shot towards the Martian surface. The Autobots threw up huge dust clouds as they landed.

"Are we close, Prime?" Ironhide brushed the red dust off of his armor.

Optimus scanned the horizon. He pointed to their left, "It should be there; in what the humans call the Vales Marinaris."

The Autobots followed the curve of the huge rip in the surface of the planet.

They threw up dust at each step. Finally, Optimus stopped, and Ironhide did too. Strike, who hadn't been paying attention, slammed into Ironhide. Ironhide turned and glared at him. Optimus waved them both away from each other. "The Energon signal is strong down there," he pointed down the canyon. "Please cooperate with each other," Optimus said as he jumped down the canyon. A cloud of dust erupted around him, and the other two Cybertronians followed. They stopped in their tracks after the dust had fallen.

There, in the middle of the Vales Marinares, lay an Autobot spaceship. Ironhide walked up to the door and opened it. They all stepped inside. No one was at the controls at the front of the ship, so the party went towards the back where the resting quarters were. Optimus stopped in his tracks, and Ironhide and Strike had to fight to see what Prime was. When they got a glimpse, they wished they would have waited.

There, in stasis, lay five Cybertronians. Only a faint blue glow from their chests told the party that they were in stasis, not offline. Optimus walked over and kneeled next to his comrades. "Brave fighters," he said.

Ironhide didn't look convinced, "They must have escaped Cybertron before the last battle. They abandoned their posts."

Optimus turned to him, "Wouldn't you if you knew you had no chance of winning? They wanted to run so that they could find the Cube before the Decepticons."

Strike had been looking at each one during their conversation. "There are Grimlock, Blurr, Skidplate, Sideswipe, and Mirage," he muttered.

Optimus looked towards the cockpit, "Let's get these warriors home."

* * *

Cruellock, Blitzblade and Blitzwing had finally reached Venus. They were exploring under the dense atmosphere, careful not to stay under too long. Then, they stumbled onto something they never thought they would see again.

Blitzwing was switching between his three faces in a flurry. Cruellock was moving his dinosaur mouth but nothing was coming out. Only Blitzblade seemed to be able to say anything, but it was hard in coming out. They were staring at the huge grey body of a Cybertronian.

"Lord Megatron," Blitzblade stared at the lifeless body of their leader, "We have found you."


	9. Chapter 9

9

Kiara was watching Ratchet make a computer out of miss-matched pieces of metal. The other Autobots; excluding Optimus, Ironhide, and Strike who were on a mission; were bringing whatever they could for Ratchet to work with. Stalk had dropped her pieces of scrap metal to help him build whatever it was.

Hannah was bothering Stalk, who, for once, was completely serious about what she was doing. "What are you building?" Hannah asked.

"A machine," Stalk said impatiently.

"A machine for what?" Hannah pestered.

"To search for the Allspark, what else?"

"How are you doing it with pieces of scrap metal?"

"We're Cybertronians; not much mechanically is too difficult for us on your Earth."

"How are you doing it?"

"It's complicated."

"Can you tell me?"

"Are you in mechanics?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well then; no."

"Please?"

"No."

Everyone else was oblivious to their squabble. Ratchet got out from under the machine, his paint grease-stained as well as his tools. "There," he said. "That should do it."

Stalk stood up and began to wipe the grease off of her white paint job. "So, should we start it up?"

Ratchet began to answer, but stopped before anything came out of his vocal apparatus. He stood frozen there for a minute, and tilted his head slightly.

"What is it, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked.

"We've got fallen comrades," he replied, going over to, what Kiara called it, the Spark machine. He flipped a switch, and some parts began to glow. Everyone else was absorbing the information.

"Who are they, Ratchet?" Prowl asked.

"There is Blurr, Grimlock, Skidplate, Sideswipe, and Mirage."

"So," Jazz looked around, "are they off-line?"

"Stasis."

"So we need a piece of the Cube to revive them."

"Exactly." Ratchet hit the Spark machine, "Darn this Earth-bound technology. It's still warming up."

"Is that so bad?" Bruce asked in a small voice.

"No," Ratchet replied, "except for that a Cybertronian computer would already have the data up by now."

Bruce shrugged, "Sorry?"

After a few agonizing minutes, the Spark machine was processing the data. "Any news yet, Ratchet?" Jazz asked.

"Yes, there is a pulse of life from each Cybertronian, naturally, and…and," Ratchet broke off in mid-sentence. He turned, and confusion clouded his lenses. He bent down and looked closely at Kiara. "May I see that?" he asked, pointing to her cube-shaped necklace. Kiara nodded and pulled it over her head feeling the, what she assumed were hieroglyphics, all over its surface. She placed it gently into Ratchets outstretched hand.

Immediately, the writing on its surface began to glow a faint green. With the hands of a surgeon, Ratchet began to examine its surface. "This," he said in a slightly shaky voice, "is a piece of the Allspark." He looked at her, "May I use it to revive our fallen comrades?"

Kiara's mouth had fallen open in shock. She had been holding a piece of the Allspark the entire time? She nodded her head slowly and managed a small smile. Ratchet inclined his head in thanks.

* * *

Optimus, Ironhide, and Strike came through the bunker doors dragging five fallen robots behind them. They laid the new bots neatly on the floor. Optimus walked slowly over to Ratchet. "Do you have a way to revive them?" he asked the medic. The medic nodded and pulled out the Spark fragment.

Ratchet grabbed wire and pulled open the insulation on one end. The wires that were now poking out he wrapped tightly around the fragment. He pulled the insulation away on the other end, took two wires and wrapped them together, and did the same with the last two wires. Walla, instant Cybertronian jump starter.

Ratchet walked around to each 'bot and pushed the two wrapped wires into their chests where Kiara guessed their spark chambers were. Each one jerked, and a blue light slowly came to their eyes. A light blue 'bot, as soon as his eyes were lit up, jumped up and began to race around the bunker faster than anything Kiara had ever seen. He was just a blur.

"?" he screeched at the top of his vocal apparatus.

Stalk stood up and faced the panicked robot. "Blurr," she said, trying to reason with the Autobot, "Blurr, its okay. You're all right." When he didn't stop, Stalk shifted her weight to the right and waited a minute; then she thrust her arm out, perpendicular to her body and parallel to the floor. The robot named Blurr hit it dead center on his neck, spun around it in a circle a few times, and collapsed on the floor. Stalk knelt down next to him, "And that is why you shouldn't panic on an alien planet." Blurr smiled and accepted Stalk's outstretched hand.

"Me, Grimlock, ready to kick some Decepticon butt," said a large grey and yellow robot.

"Welcome back old friend," Optimus replied to the robot.

Everyone was seeing their old comrades, and Kiara felt a little left out. Bruce and Hannah were talking to them, but Kiara was shy. Arcee walked over to her. "Who are these 'bots?" Kiara asked.

Arcee smiled and kneeled down next to her. "That is Grimlock," she pointed to the grey and yellow robot. "He used to be Bulkhead's partner."

She turned to the light blue one, "You already know him. That's Blurr, Stalk's favorite partner."

Next was a black and white Autobot, he reminded Kiara of a police car. "That is Skidplate. He was Stalk's partner, then Strike's, then Stalk's, and then Strike's again. Him being their partner is in the family."

Next was a sleek silver Autobot, "That one over there is Sideswipe. Silverbolt was his partner, also Mirage and even Bumblebee for a short time."

Last of all was another sleek Autobot, this one was red. "Over there is Mirage. I was his partner, and so was Cliffjumper."

"Wow," Kiara gazed at the new Autobots surrounding her. As Arcee walked towards Mirage, Kiara smiled and went over to say hi to Skidplate first.


	10. Chapter 10

10

"Whoa," said a voice. A man with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark suit and carrying a briefcase, came into the room. "I was not expecting more giant robots. I don't know if this bunker can hold much more of you," he joked.

"Who is this?" Heather inquired, ever curious, and poked her head out from behind Sideswipe's leg.

"This is Nicholas Brunt," Optimus answered as Nick gaped at the children.

"Right," he swallowed nervously, "please call me Nick. Optimus Prime, old pal, can I talk to you for a minute?" Optimus nodded and the two walked to the other side of the room. "Prime," Nick hissed through clenched teeth, "what are you thinking bringing children here? I had to pull a lot of strings to get this place for you."

"They are our friends as well, Nicholas," Prime replied. "By me they have permission to be here."

"Ugh," Nick slapped his forehead, "Fine. Just, fine. I am not telling the boss about this, though." He sighed and walked over to mingle with the other Autobots.

* * *

Starscream sat in his makeshift throne, waiting for Cruellock, Blitzblade and Bliztwing to get back from their mission. "Where are they?" he sighed. "They were only going to Venus and no farther!" He stood up and started to pace. "Barricade, Soundwave, Sideways, why are you standing around?"

Sideways shrugged, "Why shouldn't we? There's nothing to do."

Starscream groaned, "Fine. When are they coming back?"

Soundwave made a series of electronic noises. "Anytime now you say?" Starscream mused.

Soundwave nodded. "I have picked up their energy signals coming back from Venus. They are nearly here," he droned in a truly robotic voice.

Four more Decepticons trudged in. First was a dark grey con, a dark purple and grey con, a black and purple and silver fem con, and finally came a grey and black and dark blue fem con.

"Blackout! Shockwave! Diamondshard! Wolfstrider! You aren't the ones I was expecting. Where have you been?"

"Patrol," Wolfstrider hissed with venom lacing her voice.

"Did you find any Autobots?"

"Does it look like it?" Shockwave growled as Blackout collapsed on the floor.

"It looks like you got beaten," Sideways snickered.

Diamondshard pointed a missile in his direction, "Just get out of the way so I can patch us up." Wolfstrider collapsed on the floor and Diamondshard went over to her tools. She began to patch up the new arrivals as there was a knock on the door.

"You closed the door?" Starscream screamed as he stood up to open it.

"Paranoia," Wolfstrider replied while Diamondshard worked on her arm.

"You and your processor problems," Starscream muttered, reaching the door.

"At least I don't think Megatron is plodding after me as a ghost," Wolf retorted.

"Megatron!" Starscream yelped.

"Told ya."

Starscream stepped aside as Cruellock, Blitzwing and Blitzblade walked in dragging their fallen leader behind them. "Oh," Wolf shut her mouth and watched as they placed Megatron on Starscream's makeshift throne.

"You found him," Starscream said in nervous fake happiness.

"We need a spark fragment to revive him," Cruellock said simply.

Shockwave, finished being patched up, instantly went over to the computer and began typing in things at lightning speed. Something blinked up on the screen. "Starscream," he cried, "there's a spark signal in the Autobot base."

"How can you tell it's their base?"

"All of their energy signatures are around it."

"Decepticons," Starscream ordered, "transform and get that spark fragment!"

The Decepticons transformed, most of them into flying vehicles, and rolled out of the base, taking to the skies and the ground and heading for the energy signal that called to them like their own leaders orders.


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

"So, you're a government agent?" Heather asked Nick. The Autobots were helping to finish the now Cybertronian based computer, which left the humans to mingle.

"Obviously," he said casually, reclining on the couch.

"Cool," Heather breathed.

"So, how did you three meet the Autobots?"

Kiara shrugged, "As a meteor came towards us, and Bumblebee took us to them."

Nick nodded, "Bumblebee somehow contacted me in my office. I thought it was a desperate person who had gotten my number somehow. If I had known alien robots were involved, I'm not sure if I would've said yes."

Bruce smiled, "Are there some cool people working with you?"

Nick smiled, "There's my best friend, Brandon. He's great. I haven't told him about this yet, but I will sometime."

Bruce nodded and began to say something, before Optimus walked over to them. "Children," he said, "may I speak with you?" They nodded and he turned to Nick, "Jazz can give you a full, as you say, debrief on everything so far." He nodded and the trio followed the Prime to the other side of the bunker.

"Yes, Optimus?" Bruce questioned.

Optimus kneeled down and leaned towards them, "I have decided to assign you guardians. You have the choice of who you want to protect you."

"Got to be Arcee," Heather smiled.

"I'd like Ironhide," Bruce stated. Optimus nodded at both of them.

"I can't decide," Kiara chewed her lip. "Everyone here is wonderful; it's just hard to choose between all of you."

Optimus smiled, "May I make a suggestion? There is a 'bot who has taken a liking to you. He might not show it, though."

"Who?"

"Prowl."

"Prowl?" Kiara gasped. The silent ninja-bot? How could he take a liking to her? She smiled, though, the questions gone as quickly as they had come. "I'll choose Prowl."

Optimus stood, "I'll go inform your guardians and they will meet you in the garage." He walked away to the mass of Autobots. The trio smiled.

Kiara walked slowly through the mass of Autobots. She reached the garage, opened the door, and went over to a sleek black and gold motorcycle. She swung her leg over the seat and ran her fingers over the handlebars. "Is it true you've taken a liking to me, Prowl?" Kiara asked. He stayed silent, so Kiara wasn't sure if he was saying yes or no. She started the engine and looked at the others. They gave her thumbs up and were off.

They were driving down the highway when they heard the sound of a helicopter. Kiara turned to look at it, and it was only a few yards away. She yelped.

"Cons," Prowl hissed, staying in vehicle form. "Optimus, we have cons. We need back-up."

"On its way," Kiara heard Optimus reply faintly. Another helicopter appeared beside the first one, and Kiara knew they were in for trouble. She counted three jets, four cars, three helicopters, a tank, and a tyrannosaurus rex? Kiara smiled, though, when she identified one of the jets. Strike transformed and landed heavily on the pavement.

Ironhide came up beside Prowl, Heather was already inside. "Get inside," Prowl ordered. Kiara obliged, and Prowl turned around. "Protect them at all costs." He transformed and walked up to meet Strike.


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

Strike smirked and looked behind the Decepticons. He saw Skidplate, Blurr, Sideswipe and Mirage rolling up in their Cybertronian vehicles. They hadn't had time to scan any others. They hadn't had any action in eons. Right behind them was Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Jazz, Stalk and Optimus. All of them transformed and faced the Decepticons. Prowl, Strike, Arcee and Ironhide moved around the Decepticons to line up with their comrades.

One of the jets transformed into a purple Decepticon, and his face was normal looking with a monocle over one eye; it was Blitzwing. The tyrannosaurus rex transformed into a large red Decepticon bearing the name Cruellock. A police car, a large boxy car with a huge boom box on the back, and a sleek silvery sports car pulled up and transformed into Barricade, Soundwave and Sideways respectively. The tank transformed into the dark purple and grey Shockwave. The three helicopters became the black Blitzblade, the dark gray and black Blackout, and the black and purple and silver Diamondshard. The last one to drop in was a gray, black and dark blue muscle car with the engine poking out of the hood and wicked looking blades jutting out the front of it. This vehicle transformed into the crazy and dangerous Wolfstrider, the blades on the front of the car were now battle claws on her knuckles.

"Now this is a party!" Wolfstrider exclaimed as she looked at Strike, her former partner.

Suddenly, there was a scream. Prowl raced towards it when he registered Kiara's scream. He came upon Starscream glaring down at the three humans. "Give me the spark fragment," he growled, "or I'll rip it from your pretty little neck." Starscream stopped as a foot was put between him and the humans.

He looked up into Prowl's hard lenses. "You will do no such thing," Prowl stated. He lifted his foot and kicked Starscream back to his Decepticon minions.

"Get them!" Starscream yelled/ ordered as he lay on the ground. The Decepticons surged forward to engage the Decepticons. Ironhide, having left his post, went back to the humans and drove them back to base.

Bots and cons clashed. Diamondshard was face-to-face with Strike. Both fired missiles at each other, and both dodged. One missile caught Diamondshard on a rotor, and one caught Strike on the shoulder. Both cried out, but Strike was the one to land on his feet. He shot a plasma blast towards her, but she spun out of the way.

Wolfstrider brought her battle claws down towards Stalk, but she blocked it with her staff. They exchanged blows between staff and claws quickly, and then out of Wolfstrider's back came her mini-con, Shredder. He was a small, wolf-looking con with blue and black armor. Stalk growled and blades came form her wrists and extended past her elbow. Shredder leapt towards her and she sliced at him with one of the blades. He pulled back just enough so that it only grazed his armor. He landed and Stalk turned to Wolfstrider. Wolfstrider's lenses widened, and she screamed and raced away. Shredder gazed at her in confusion and ran after her.

"Is that a normal thing?" Stalk wondered and she went back into the fight.

Sideswipe and Mirage were battling side-by-side with Bumblebee against Cruellock, Blackout and Sideways. Blackout swiped at Bumblebee, and Mirage swiped at Blackout while giving Sideways a back kick. Sideswipe was locked in close combat with Cruellock. Cruellock might be bigger than him, but Sideswipe was definitely holding his own. Sideswipe gave Cruellock a nice uppercut as Mirage kicked Sideways back into him. "Sorry, partner," Mirage said.

Sideswipe smiled, "No problem." He swung Sideways into Cruellock and they went down in a pile together.

Soundwave opened his chest, and Ravage and Laserbeak flew out. "Get the spark fragment," Soundwave ordered them in his robotic monotone. The two raced off and followed Ironhide, who was carrying the children.

Ironhide dropped the children off at the base and drove off. The trio watched him from the garage, and shivered. What could they do against Decepticons? They raced to the edges of the garage and grabbed whatever weapons they could find.

Laserbeak and Ravage cautiously entered the garage as it went dark. They stood there, waiting to hear anything that might give away the children's location. There was a crash and some cursing as Bruce tripped over a pile of scrap metal.

"Scrap, Heather," he yelled, "why did you turn the lights off?"

"So they can't see us."

"Shut it you two," Kiara growled. "It's a little late now, Heather. Turn on the lights before we get killed." Ravage hurried towards the first voice, while Laserbeak swooped towards the other two. Heather turned the lights back on and everyone stopped for a minute to adjust to the new light. Then the Decepticons continued their assault.

Meanwhile, Optimus was locked in battle with Starscream. They exchanged blows lavishly, with Starscream taking the worst of it. He didn't have the battle experience Prime did, and it didn't look good when he was trying to be the leader of the Decepticons. Starscream lashed at Optimus, and he blocked the flailing hit easily. Prime related with sharp uppercut to the mid-section, and Starscream doubled over. Prime brought a hard knee right into his chin. Starscream's face dented in a little and energon leaked slightly from the dent. Optimus grabbed his throat, and Starscream made a choking noise. Prime cast him to the side and jumped back into battle.

Ravage snuck towards the deeper voice, which he assumed was the male. He spotted movement behind a pile of scrap metal and leapt. Bruce heard the clatter as Ravage knocked over a piece of scrap, and reached for a crowbar. Ravage landed on him, and Bruce jammed the crowbar into the steel jaws of the Decepticon. Ravage snarled, biting down on the steel bar. Bruce took a daring reach for another weapon, leaving one hand on the bar.

Laserbeak locked in on Heather, and dived towards her. She grabbed a steel bat and swung out at the Decepticon, but he dodged. Kiara jumped up behind him, yelling, and swung at him with a wooden baseball bat. She landed a solid blow on the tail, but it only dizzied him for a minute. He turned and flew at Kiara. She screamed and fell to the floor with the 'con on top of her.

Ravage snapped the bar in half and went for Bruce. There was two screams, and Ravage was knocked from his stomach. Heather was standing above him, breathing hard, with a broken bat hanging from her tightly clenched hands.

He hefted himself up, "Thanks."

"No problem," Heather gasped, and the bat fell from her hands. Ravage shook his head and stood up, back on the offensive.

Kiara screamed again, and they both turned to her. Laserbeak got off of her suddenly and turned, flying out of the door. Kiara scrambled to her feet with the help of Bruce and Heather and looked after him.

Ravage scanned the room and flicked his tail. Something flew out of it and stuck to the wall; then it began to blink. He snarled at the trio and ran out of the room.

"They're running!" Bruce cried, grabbing a pipe and racing after them. Heather and Kiara followed him in excitement.

_No time for losers, cause we are the champions_, Laserbeak played as he flew over the Cybertronian battle field. A plasma blast came out of nowhere and blasted his wing. He zigzagged towards the ground and landed in Soundwave's outstretched hands.

"Shut that racket off," Ironhide growled.

Blurr was in a fast-paced battle with Blitzwing. He exchanged fast blows with Blitzwing's slower yet heavier blows. Blitzwing's third head was a hefty looking one with a large chin and sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Get back here you bug," it growled in a deeper and more gravelly voice than the other two heads.

"Why, when you can't make up your mind?" Blurr retorted.

Blitzwing's head flipped to its crazy jack 'o lantern face, "Why you little-"

Blurr stopped long enough to get in a punch hard enough to get Blitzwing bending backwards. He looked over his shoulder and saw black specks on the road. He focused his lenses and saw Ravage with Bruce, Kiara and Heather following behind. His lenses widened and he jumped on top of Blitzwing to get a better vantage point. "Optimus!" he yelled over the sounds of metal against metal. "The kids!"

Prime heard Blurr and stopped in the middle of hammering Barricade, and turned towards the voice. Bulkhead turned around and Optimus jumped onto his shoulder. He focused his vision and saw the same scene Blurr had, except that Ravage was way out in front. Optimus jumped down and turned to the sky, "Autobots retreat!"

At the exact same moment Starscream screeched, "Decepticons, retreat!"

The Autobots transformed and rolled toward the kids, while the Decepticons ran the other way in robot form. Soundwave stayed, though, and waited for Ravage. Ravage jumped up and transformed into a cassette. _School's been blown to pieces;_ he played as he landed safely in Soundwave's chest. Soundwave turned, took one step, and the Autobot base exploded behind him.

* * *

**A.N: I hope you enjoy this story. If you would please review this story, I would appreciate it. I might not put up a new chapter until I get a review, so keep that in mind. This is a good place for a bribe xD**


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

"By the Allspark if I see another Decepticon again he won't live long enough to look me in the optics," Ratchet growled as he attended to his patients. There were four Autobots and three humans lying on his make-shift tables. Nick stood back, pacing worriedly around. Heather, Kiara and Bruce fit together on one table. Stalk, Blurr, Optimus and Strike occupied the other tables. The other Autobots were busy cleaning up the remnants of their exploded base.

"This is not good; this is not good," Nick shook his head. "What am I going to tell my boss?"

"You're boss?" Ratchet snarled. "What about these seven lives? Help out you useless blob of flesh!"

Nick reeled backwards in shock. He stood there for a moment, and then walked forward, pulling himself up onto the table with the humans on it. "You'll have to handle them," Ratchet told him, "because I know next to nothing about human medical sciences." He flipped his right hand around into a welding torch and went over to Strike. "This will be the second time I rebuild him," he muttered.

Optimus propped himself up onto his elbow, "It's a good thing that Blurr was near, or the humans might have not made it."

Ratchet finished with Strike and began to weld Optimus' arm on. "They were very fortunate," he agreed. "They caught part of the blast, but it could have been much worse."

"How are the others?" Optimus asked.

"Strike is the worst," Ratchet replied, "and even he only has his legs and one arm blown off. Stalk's are only superficial, but she's out cold."

Optimus nodded, "That's good. And the humans?"

"Only time and my scanners can tell," Ratchet sighed. "Now rest, Optimus. Let the energon adjust." Optimus laid his head down and stared into the sky.

Ratchet walked over to Nick, "How are they doing?"

Nick looked up at the med-bot, a stethoscope dangling from his ears, "They're fine. Scratched, bruised, and cut, but nothing life-threatening."

Ratchet nodded, "You came prepared."

"I have to," he shrugged. "You might want to get them home," he motioned to the teens.

"I'll have it done," Ratchet assured. "You should get back to your home to. Try to stay away from any Decepticons."

Nick opened the door to a black exotic sports car and threw the first-aid kit in, "I will."

Ratchet tossed him his cell phone, and Nick stared at it, not knowing he lost it. "Call me if you ever need help." Nick nodded, got behind the driver's seat, and drove off towards his work office.

* * *

Nick drove into his reserved parking spot and got out. He headed into the building, nodded to the woman at the front desk, and got into the elevator to go to the seventh floor. It was time to tell his partner about the Autobots and get them a new place to stay.

Nick got off of the elevator and entered his cushy office. He collapsed onto the chair and turned to his computer. There were no messages on his e-mail. He heard foot-steps and turned. A man with red hair and brown eyes was leaning on the doorjamb.

"Having a rough day?" Brandon asked.

"You have no idea," Nick sighed. _It's now or never…_

"I have something to tell you," they chorused at the same time. The two burst into laughter.

"You first," Brandon said, pulling up a chair opposite of Nick.

"No, you go," Nick insisted.

"Alright," Brandon reclined in his chair. "I have made the greatest discovery of all time!" Nick leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands on the desk. "I have discovered a race of living machines from a distant galaxy. They call themselves, Decepticons." Nick's stomach dropped as did his hands onto his lap. "Now I know this is hard to believe, but it is the truth. They are honest to god living machines. They think, talk and feel. Anger mostly." He was shaking with excitement.

Nick clenched his hands under the desk. "What?" he tried to control the anger in _his_ voice.

"Isn't it great?" Brandon asked, leaning on the desk.

"Great?" Nick muttered. "You've sided with the enemy!"

"Eh?" Brandon asked.

"The enemy!" Nick stood up and leaned close to Brandon. "You've sided with the enemy!"

"The…enemy?"

"The Decepticons!" Nick snarled.

Brandon scrambled back, "You mean the winning side?"

"I mean the ones who want to destroy mankind! It's the Autobots you should be siding with."

It was Brandon's turn to be angry, "Those losers? The Decepticons have offered me a place in their empire."

"Good luck trying when they wake up Megatron."

"Megatron? He's here?"

Nick crossed his arms and turned towards the door, "I was going to tell you I've allied myself with the Autobots. You'll be sorry when your world falls apart."

"No, you'll be sorry!" Brandon yelled as Nick walked out the door. He didn't even bother to use the elevator as he headed for the car. He didn't want to be there anymore.

Once Nick got to his car he got in and opened up the contacts list in his cell phone. He dialed the number of his boss and put the phone to his ear. "Hello, boss? Yes, this is Nicholas Brunt." He smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Yes, I have a favor to ask of you…"


	14. Chapter 14

**14**

"Nice work blowing up the Autobot base, Soundwave," Wolfstrider said, slapping him on the back. Soundwave was silent.

"And where were you during the battle, Wolfstrider?" Sideways asked, bumping her with his elbow.

She glared at him, "Fighting."

"The last thing I saw was you running. Did the Autobots scare you?"

"No," she growled, "only the ones who want to take me to the asylum."

"We all want you in an asylum," Blitzwing whispered to Cruellock.

"And we all want you to go with her," Cruellock grumbled.

"Silence, Decepticons!" Starscream screeched. Everyone turned their lenses to him. "The fragment, Soundwave," he ordered. Soundwave opened his chest silently and the Spark fragment landed in his hand. Starscream smiled in relish, "Now, we are all eager to have Megatron back, but I feel the Decepticons could use new leadership."

"Like Soundwave, for instance?" Diamondshard called over Blackout.

"Like me for instance," Starscream said. Everyone's lenses hardened, and Soundwave closed his hand over the fragment slightly.

"Megatron will live again," Soundwave droned.

Starscream held his hand palm up to Soundwave, "That's very nice; now hand me the fragment." Soundwave didn't move. "I demand you give it to me!" Only Soundwave's fingertips twitched. Starscream clenched his hands into fists, "Are you undermining your superior officer?"

"Megatron is my only superior officer," Soundwave's tone grew harsh, and he took one step back, pulling his hand behind him. Starscream leapt for the fragment, and everyone snapped.

Starscream was hit back by Soundwave, slammed into Blitzwing, and both of them hit the ground. Sideways had been going for Starscream, but couldn't stop once Starscream was out of the way and collided with Soundwave. Blitzblade tried to grab Sideways and pull him back, but he tripped over Ravage and took him, Sideways and Soundwave to the ground.

Starscream pulled him himself up and dove for Soundwave's hand. Blackout took him down from the side, and Starscream was squished underneath the bigger 'con. Diamondshard was trying to calm everyone down but she got back-handed by Cruellock and she hit the far wall. Once she regained her senses she stood up and launched herself at the 'con, and he fell back in surprise. He bit at her arm, but she slashed at him with her other arm.

Starscream clawed his way out from under Blackout and continued on his way towards the downed Soundwave. Blitzblade was pushing himself off of Sideways, and Sideways was yelling fiercely at the much larger 'con. Soundwave also sounded less than happy. Starscream snuck around the quarreling trio and began to pry Soundwave's fingers apart. Soundwave didn't give up easily, but Starscream eventually got them apart in the midst of the fighting Decepticons. "Victory!" Starscream smiled, holding the fragment above his head.

"Not for long," a voice came out of the air. Blitzwing flew over Starscream and plucked the Spark fragment from his outstretched fingertips. His head spun and Blitzwing's crazy face appeared, "Better luck next time." He was too busy looking back and crashed into the wall above Megatron's body, dropping the fragment and collapsing in a heap on the ground. Starscream cackled in delight until the fragment bounced and landed in the center of Megatron's spark chamber.

A light pulsed in the chamber and his whole body jerked upwards. A grunt came from his voice box and his head began to move. "L-l-l-lord, Megatron," Starscream gulped quietly. Everyone froze in place; some even had fists still raised. They waited in stony silence as their leader pushed himself into a sitting position. Blitzwing scrambled away so that he wouldn't get crushed.

Megatron put a hand to his head and looked around the room, "What in the name of Unicron is going on here?" Everyone stood frozen in place for a minute more, and then scrambled off of each other and formed a ragged line across the room.

"I'm sorry, Lord Megatron, but there was a little misunderstanding-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Starscream," Megatron held out a hand and then went to one end of the line, checking out each Decepticon in turn. Starscream followed his procession from a distance. "Where are we, Soundwave?"

"A planet called Earth, in the Theta Quadrant," he replied.

"Well, well," Megatron mused. He put a hand on Soundwave's shoulder, "It's great to be working with you again."

"The Autobots have arrived as well."

Megatron's lenses narrowed slightly, "Hopefully they will only be a little snag in the great web of my master plan."

He moved on, "Blitzwing, did you revive me?"

"Accidentally," Blitzwing was tripping over his words, "I was going to let Soundwave do it-"

Megatron cut him off, "Good job; we might make a soldier of you yet."

"Megatron," Cruellock gave a small bow to his leader.

"Cruellock," Megatron replied back.

"Good to have you back." Cruellock nodded.

"Wolfstrider," Megatron said, "you'd do good to keep yourself in line."

Wolfstrider looked down and saw her feet were farther ahead than the others. She quickly shuffled back, "Sorry, Lord Megatron."

"You always were an odd one," Megatron muttered, shaking his head. "Blitzblade and Blackout, the team is always stronger with you on it."

Both of them inclined their heads. "Thank you, Megatron," Blitzblade rumbled.

"Sideways, ever present and ever a nuisance," Sideways looked at the ground. "For the Autobots." Sideways looked up and Megatron was giving him an approving look. Sideways smiled and Megatron moved on.

"Shockwave," Megatron looked at the purple Decepticon, "always a pleasure."

"The same goes to you," Shockwave nodded.

"Diamondshard," Megatron's tone was pleasant, "give me a check-over. I feel fine, but you never know with the Autobots around," he spat the word _Autobots_.

Diamondshard bowed, "Of course, my Lord." She went over and grabbed her tools and began to check him over.

"Where are Bonecrusher and Breakdown?" Megatron asked Shockwave.

"Bonecrusher has been…destroyed by the Autobots," Shockwave watched as Megatron's expression darkened. "Breakdown is…somewhere."

"You didn't think to call him?" Megatron tapped where his ear would be and called up his con-link. "Breakdown, report in. It's your leader, Megatron."

"Megatron!" a voice on the other end says in surprise. "You're alive! It's great to hear your voice."

"Why aren't you at base, where you're supposed to be?"

Breakdown's voice was lowered, "Well, I'm kind of undercover…"

* * *

Nick settled back in his leather seat; he was almost at the Autobot base. He reached for the controls and turned on the radio. Some tunes might clam his frayed nerves. Nick settled against the seat again and tried to decide if he would ever go back to that office.

"I'm spying on the Autobots, and am trying to penetrate into their central circle."

"Good work. Get back here and report to me as soon as you can."

"What the?" Nick breathed, reaching for the controls. "What kind of radio station is this?"

"Make sure you find out as much about them as you can before you get caught, Breakdown."

"Can do, Megatron. Breakdown, out."

"Megatron?" Nick felt like something bad was going to happen. He opened his phone and dialed the number Ratchet had put into the contacts. "Hello, Ratchet? It's Nick. I need some help. I think it's the Decep-"

Nick gasped as a laser gun came out of the steering wheel and shot the phone out of his hands. He sat frozen for a moment as the steering wheel moved itself under his loose grip.

"I'm sorry," a voice rumbled from the dashboard, "You're call has been disconnected."


	15. Chapter 15

**15**

Ratchet was listening intently into his con-link. When the conversation was cut off, he put a hand to the side of his head to try to hear a little better. "Nick? Are you still there? Is it the Decepticons?" Ratchet gave up when there was no answer.

Bumblebee looked up at the worried medic, "What's up, Ratchet?"

Ratchet shook his head, "I don't know. Nick called me, but was cut off for some reason. His last word sounded like he was trying to say _Decepticons_."

"If it had anything to do with _deception_, then it can't be good. Especially if he called you."

Ratchet nodded, "I'd better tell Optimus."

Optimus listened intently to Ratchet's recount of the conversation. He was silent for a moment, musing over Ratchet's thoughts. "If Nick asked for help; we will be too glad to give it," he said finally. "I'll take Ironhide, Prowl, Stalk, and Blurr. We'll go to where his signal was last and try to find him," the 'bots names that were called stood up. "Be ready for anything," Optimus told them. They nodded silently. Prime turned back to Ratchet, "Make sure Skidplate, Sideswipe, and Mirage get their vehicle forms."

"What about Grimlock?" Ratchet asked.

"He's a dino-bot," Optimus smiled, "he'll figure something out."

Ratchet relayed the coordinates of the last transmission, Optimus rolled out into the streets. Blurr scanned a snazzy sports car on the way there. When they got to where the signal had last been, they saw some skid marks on the asphalt making a U-turn. The 'bots followed them until the skid marks disappeared, and then Ratchet turned his scanner on at the "base" (piece of open land surrounded by scrap metal).

"Optimus," Ratchet reported, "there is a Decepticon signal about 500 meters due north. It is being joined by two others as we speak."

"I'm on it," Optimus said. The Autobots followed their leader. After a couple minutes, they saw a warehouse approaching. Optimus hit the brakes and swerved into the curve towards it. Everyone followed suite and looked for an opening.

They found one at the back of the warehouse, and they all transformed. Optimus shifted his hand to an energon sword, and pressed himself up against the wall. He peaked inside, and signaled for everyone to move in. Optimus and Ironhide were great at fighting on their own, but Stalk, Blurr, and Prowl stuck together as smaller 'bots.

They went down a small hallway, turned right, and stepped into a large, open space. Standing at the other end of the room was Blackout, Blitzblade, and another, smaller, Decepticon named Breakdown. They all had smirks on their faces, and Nick was lying unconscious on a table behind them.

"Well, well, well," Breakdown smiled, "if it isn't the great Optimus Prime and his companions."

"Say that again!" Stalk dared, pushing forward a little.

"Stand down!" Optimus ordered.

"Feisty, isn't she?" Blackout rumbled. Blurr grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Well," Breakdown hoisted a sword up, "I guess we need to start off this little dance." He raised the sword and the 'cons charged.

Blurr, Prowl, and Stalk bunched together as Blackout headed for them. The 'con raised his arm and shot at them. Stalk and Blurr hoisted Prowl into the air, and the two shot to the sides. As the 'con continued forward, Prowl landed on his head and he was driven to the ground. Stalk and Blurr grabbed both his arms and pulled him upright. Stalk dashed in front of him, and gave him an uppercut to the jaw.

Optimus and Blitzblade met with clashing swords. Prime shoved the larger 'con's sword out of the way and kicked him in the stomach. The 'con doubled up, but shoved his sword upward again. Prime barely dodged it, and the tip clipped his shoulder. Optimus brought his hands up over the 'con's head and smashed the back of his neck. The 'con collapsed onto the floor.

Ironhide and Breakdown exchanged blows like madmen. Sword to the arm, fist to the abdomen. Foot to the chin, knife-hand to the neck. After a little while, Prowl came up behind the 'con and got him into a tight head grip. Prowl slipped his hands under the 'con's arms and clasped them behind his neck. Ironhide assessed himself and covered gouge on his arm with his hand.

There was a slight whirring noise, and a projector appeared out of Laserbeak's mouth. The mini-con had been hiding there the whole time, taping the whole squabble and relaying it to the Decepticon base. Now someone wanted to speak.

The projection covered the whole far wall, and Megatron looked at them all. Everyone dropped what they were doing to look at the resurrected Decepticon leader.

"Megatron," Optimus said, "I knew you wouldn't stay gone for long."

"Prime," Megatron smirked, "same as always."

"I haven't had any reason to change."

"Well, this is a nice planet, isn't it? This will be a great place to build my empire."

"Over my cold circuits!" Optimus growled.

"You made the wrong choice all those years ago, Optimus," Megatron said, "I am assembling my Decepticon army as we speak."

"I will not let you take this planet!"

"Then I'll just have to destroy you, won't I?"

"You've tried."

"I will succeed this time. There were too many distractions on Cybertron. One day we will finish what was started all those eons ago."

"One shall stand, one shall fall. The next time we meet in battle, only one of us will come out alive."

"I look forward to it." The Decepticon leader looked over his shoulder, "Oh, you might want to check a town about twenty miles from here, I believe you call it Denver, in a few days. After we get the Allspark, we will take it."

"Wrong!" Prime stepped forward. "You will have to kill many a Prime before we let you take this planet."

"I thought you would say that," Megatron's optics darkened. "Decepticons, regroup."

The three Decepticons shot and slashed each Autobot in the back. They transformed, and raced out of the warehouse. The projection disappeared, and Laserbeak flew away.

"Cowards!" Stalk spat at them. She collapsed onto the ground, and Prowl and Ironhide shakily helped her up.

Optimus pushed himself up and walked over to the table. Nicholas Brunt was beginning to wake up, and his bleary eyes looked at Prime in confusion.

"Prime," he grunted as the Autobot leader picked him up, "thank you."

"No need to thank me," he replied.

The human sat and thought for a moment, "Let me make a phone call or two when we get to our…um…base. By tomorrow, we shall have a new base of operations, and the location of the Allspark."


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

"Soundwave!" Megatron roared, "Do you have the location of any energon deposits yet?"

"I am working on it, Lord Megatron," Soundwave droned. "There is a small spike in this area. On Earth they call it….Kentucky."

Megatron came up behind Soundwave and scanned the computer screen. "Excellent," he mused. "I'll go myself, and I will take Sideways along."

The small black and grey 'con stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Megatron. It will be an honor to serve by your side."

"Cut the formalities, Sideways," Megatron growled. "We have more important things to do."

"What are we doing, Lord Megatron?" Sideways asked. He transformed and blasted out of the ship with Megatron. Sideways hit the ground hard and kept rolling, while Megatron kept to the sky.

"We are heading to Kentucky to pull some energon from a mine. We'll need as much as we can get. The more we have, the less the Autobots will have against us."

"Brilliant!" Sideways exclaimed.

"Of course it is," Megatron said. "We'll hopefully be there shortly."

* * *

"Hang a left here," Nick said, grabbing onto the seat as Optimus swerved dangerously. In the side view mirror he could see the trailer on the back turn dangerously, and a high-pitched screech pierced his eardrums. Finally, the huge semi was straightened out on the road.

"Do you really have to give directions at such short notice?" Optimus asked. "I'm not the most maneuverable vehicle, if you haven't noticed."

"Sorry, Prime," Nick ran a hand through his hair. "That was just as terrifying to me as it was to you."

"It's uncomfortable," Prime said blandly. "I've been through much worse. That kind of stuff is terrifying."

"Okay then…it was much more terrifying to me. I won't do it again."

Optimus seemed to approve and was silent. Nick stared into the distance trying to find their new base. Kiara, Heather, and Bruce were behind the huge semi in Prowl, Arcee, and Ironhide respectively. Finally, a large metal structure came into view. It was jutting out of the side of a mountain, and looked fairly secluded.

"Autobots, welcome to your new home," Nick said as he jumped out of a parked Optimus. The Autobot leader transformed, and the other 'bots followed suit.

"A secret government base in the middle of nowhere. How convenient," Heather huffed.

"It's always like that," Kiara rolled her eyes.

"But this is one government base we're allowed in, right?" Bruce turned to Nick.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Nick said, flinching a little at the last agreement.

"Thank you, Agent Nick," Optimus said. "I can assure you we won't blow this one up."

"I took all the precautions necessary so it won't," Nick told them. "It's cloaked, nearly invisible to satellites and planes, and has a pretty good security system. Not that you need it."

"Will we be able to work in it?" Ratchet asked.

"As much as the last one and more," Nick assured them. "Shall we take the grand tour?"

The new Autobot base had five underground floors and a ground floor. There was an elevator big enough to carry Optimus Prime and Bulkhead, together. There was a main room when you came in, and then a hall that lead into more rooms at each floor. The number of rooms depended on the level. The Autobots went down in the elevator a few at a time, and then the next group would go. Nick would lead the first group on a tour, and the others would follow. The base was amazing. Optimus and Ratchet began to plan out what would be on each floor as they toured.

Ground floor would be the garage and Ratchet's scrap yard. That's where the kids and Nick would come in, unless the Autobots opened a ground bridge for them. This would be Level 0 for any visitors to the base. Decepticons coming to the base to help out (highly unlikely) would go through the ground bridge.

Level 1 would be the hanger for spaceships, aircraft and their repairs. There was a spot on the ground outside that opened and allowed aircraft in. Mirage flew and lowered his spaceship into the hanger so that Ratchet could repair it. At least its engine still worked. This would also be where Strike would come into the base since his wingspan would not allow him into the garage.

Level 2 would be the stasis floor and the gaming area. Here the humans could play video games and the Autobots their more destructive games. They would be in no danger of breaking any of Ratchet's 'toys' and plenty of room for rough-housing. The rooms would also be where the Autobots could take stasis naps if they wished, or where Ratchet could send them if they were too annoying.

Level 3 was the hub of activity. Here, Ratchet had his computer, a stable ground bridge transport, and a place to hang out for the humans and Autobots. Humans could easily talk to Autobots while they worked, and Optimus could deal out missions for them. Humans could also come in through the ground bridge after school if they wanted.

Level 4 was simply the place where the energon generator was and the other heavy equipment. Level 5 didn't have a definite use yet, but would probably be the place for secret experiments or technology. The Cube might even be stored there if they could find it.

Optimus Prime knelt down to Nick's level, "Thank you. This will be perfect for our operations."

"I'm glad," Nick smiled. "I hope it will last longer than the other one."

"Now, about the Allspark…"

"Oh! The Allspark, duh. Right," Nick rubbed his hand together. "Prepare for a long drive, everyone. We're headed to Area 51."

* * *

Megatron was cruising above the skies of Kentucky. He was quite enjoying himself, and would even more the moment he found the energon mine. Sideways was keeping pace far below him. Below him the land was devoid of human life, except for a stone building rapidly approaching them. It was surrounded by high walls, guard towers, and armed soldiers with guns. Megatron had to smile to himself. _Do they think I'm an amateur?_

A human voice crackled over his radio system, and it didn't sound happy to see him. "This is a restricted air base. Either land nearby or turn around and continue on your way. Do you understand me?"

_I understand you perfectly. I just don't agree with you. You have something I want, and nothing can stand in my way._

"Please respond or we will be forced to shoot you out of the air."

_These humans don't know me very well, do they?_

Megatron tilted his nose down towards the human's base. He saw the fleshlings scattering and felt bullets pelting his armor. It warmed his circuits to be able to crush them like the bugs they were.

Before he hit the ground, Megatron swerved upwards and transformed. He landed squarely in the middle of the yard, shedding bullets like raindrops. Many stopped shooting, and he easily cast aside the humans in his way. Sideways would cover his back.

Megatron ripped the roof off the stone building easily. Inside, he hoped to find a raw energon deposit. He put his claw into the miniscule building and fished around. He brought it back out, and cried out in disgust. In his hand lay a bunch of glittering yellow bricks. He crushed them easily into an amorphous mass and dropped it back into the building.

"Gold," Megatron roared, remembering the human's name for the useless yellow substance. Humans liked for its supposed value, but the only thing it would be good for with any Cybertronian was for conducting electricity. Even that had more alternayes that did a better job.

"Please step away from the building," a human boomed over a megaphone.

Megatron turned and came close to the human's face, "Or what?"

The human was shaking terribly, and dropped the cone in its hand. "Please?" it squeaked.

Megatron laughed and cast the human aside. "Sideways," he rumbled, "get back to base. This was a wasted trip." The silver 'con saluted, transformed, and burst out of the gates. Megatron picked up the amorphous yellow mass, transformed, and took to the sky. It might have some use after all.


	17. Chapter 17

**17**

Nicholas Brunt was stuck in Jazz's alternate from with three rambunctious college students on their way to southern Nevada. Perfect. Nick tried to keep his cool just watching the road and holding the steering wheel in an iron grip. Why did Prime insist they ride together? It was ridiculous.

Optimus Prime and Ratchet had decided who would come and get the Allspark, and who would stay at base. Currently in their caravan were Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, Arcee, Prowl, Bumblebee, Skidplate, and Sideswipe. Stalk, Bulkhead, Strike, Grimlock, Blurr and Mirage had been confined to the base with Ratchet to help the latter build a ground bridge. Ratchet had insisted that they needed to get the ground bridge up and running as soon as possible, so he took as many Autobots as he needed for the task. Stalk had complained loudly, but Ratchet calmed her down by telling her she was his assistant.

"I knew the Allspark would be at Area 51! I knew it!" Heather called from the backseat. "Aliens do exist."

"You're sitting in one," Kiara pointed out.

Heather's cheeks reddened, "Well, I've been studying Area 51 since I was little."

"Have you?" Nick muttered sourly.

"I saw Bigfoot once!" Bruce blurted.

"You did?" Heather's eyes sparkled.

"I was in the woods, and something threw a rock at me. I looked in that direction and saw a big, dark shape with glowing yellow eyes. The eyes were about seven and a half feet off the ground. Much taller than I was. Then it lumbered off."

"I study conspiracies a little," Kiara said. She was sitting in the passenger seat. "Did you know John Wilkes Booth might have lived for forty more years after he killed Lincoln?"

"Really?" Heather breathed in disbelief.

"He killed Lincoln?" Bruce asked. Heather jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"We're here," Nick sighed in relief. Five more minutes of this and he would've torn their throats out. The three kids snapped to attention.

"You sound irritated," Jazz's voice came from the dashboard.

"You have no idea," Nick muttered.

"I find their conversations quite interesting."

"Good for you," Nick growled. They were now passing a fence with a sign that said this was restricted land for Area 51. A collective breath was taken when the kids read the words: _Deathly force may be used_. "We'll be fine," he assured them. "I have clearance for this base."

"We don't," Heather reminded him.

"I'll take care of that," Nick said. Nevertheless, the kids sunk down in their seats as if they could avoid being seen.

After a couple minutes, a band of black cars with tinted windows surrounded them. Nick stopped the car, and all the Autobots did the same. He stepped out, talked to the main man, showed him his clearance badge, and was allowed through. The main guy wasn't happy about all the cars coming in, but Nick finally persuaded him to let them through. Nick got back in the car, and the black cars lead the way to Area 51.

"So," Bruce drawled, "these are friends of yours?"

"Acquaintances," Nick grumbled his knuckles white on the wheel. "I wouldn't go so far as friends. These guys are too uptight for my liking."

The rest of the trip was made in silence, though the trip wasn't too far. Finally, a large hanger came into sight. It looked like it could hold thirty private jets, but instead probably held a lot of alien equipment. Too bad they couldn't get the VIP tour.

"How many of those hangers are there on this site?" Kiara whispered.

"About twenty," Nick replied. "More are being planned out every day."

The black cars came to a stop, and so did the caravan of Autobots. For the sake of the humans, Jazz was in the front of the line with Optimus and the rest right behind. Nick unlocked the doors and stepped out. The teens decided to get out too and stay on the opposite side. Nick looked around and gestured for the kids to follow. The foursome approached a large group of men in either black business suits, or in more of the military camouflage look. All looked intimidating, and the kids lowered their gazes.

The leader of the group (they assumed) was the most intimidating. He was a large man, with graying black hair and hard, blue-gray eyes. He was dressed in a dark gray business suit with a crisp white shirt and a purple-blue tie. Nick came up right in front of the man, and the kids hung back.

"Nicholas Brunt," the strange man said stiffly, offering his hand.

"Silas Smyth," Nick said just as stiffly, taking the hand and pumping a couple times.

"Why have you come here, brought unauthorized children with you, and a huge group of unauthorized vehicles?" Silas' tone was as cold as his eyes.

"I've come here for item T38-502-FD2. You know the one I'm talking about. These children, and vehicles, are with me."

"That doesn't make it any better," Silas growled. "They'll have to be watched for the rest of their lives."

"They WILL be watched," Nick assured him, "by me."

Silas nodded disbelievingly, "You come with me. Everyone else stays here."

"No," Nick contradicted. "I'll bring Kiara and," his gaze swept over the Autobots, "Optimus. That should suffice."

"Fine," Silas groaned. "Come with me," he gestured to Nick, Kiara, and Bruce.

Nick laughed, "This isn't Optimus," he put a hand on Bruce's shoulder. He pointed to the large semi in the parking lot, "That is."

Silas' eyes gleamed questioningly. Suddenly, Optimus' alternate form split and shifted, and in a few seconds Optimus Prime was standing there in all his glory. The Autobot leader inclined his head to the head of Area 51, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Silas Smyth."

Silas was speechless for a moment. He tugged at his shirt collar as if it were tight on his neck. Finally he said, "Follow me." His voice was shaky. He turned and led the way through the huge compound with Nick, Kiara, and Optimus following behind.

They stopped at a hanger in the middle of the base. It seemed a little smaller than the other ones, at least width-wise. Silas opened the hanger doors and gestured for them to step inside. Kiara and Nick both gasped at what was inside.

Inside was a huge cube, five times larger than Optimus Prime. Odd hieroglyphs decorated every side of it, and Kiara had a sneaking suspicion that it was Cybertronian. Its surface was the color of tarnished silver. Prime's optics shone as he looked up at the creator of his race. He reached up and touched its tarnished silver surface. The whole cube shifted and collapsed onto itself innumerable times. Finally, it stopped when it was the perfect size to fit in the palm of Prime's hand.

"Is that safe?" Silas asked, pointing to Optimus.

"Completely," Nick replied, "in the hands of the Autobots. Now, lead us out of here and we'll get out of your hair."

As they walked back to the parking lot, Silas couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. He acted annoyingly like Heather. "What was that in there?"

"That was an Autobot taking back its creator."

"Creator? Who are the Autobots? How did you get to know them? How did the kids find out about them?"

"Silas, please," Nick said sternly. "I'll give you a full debriefing when we get this taken care of."

"Fine," Silas agreed stiffly.

When they got back to the other Autobots, Optimus handed the Cube to Kiara and transformed. "Keep it safe," the Autobot leader told her.

"I will," she promised.

Optimus raised his voice, "Nick, Bruce, Kiara, and Heather, you may ride in any Autobot you choose." Silas stepped closer, "Mr. Smyth, thank you for your services. I hope to see you again soon." The Area 51 leader nodded. Kiara slung her leg over Prowl's seat and placed the Allspark in his sidecar. Heather jumped onto Arcee and jammed the helmet onto her head. Bruce raced over to Ironhide, and Nick slid into Sideswipe. "Autobots, roll out!"

Sideswipe led the way out. Kiara frequently checked the Cube to make sure it was safe. After they got out of Are 51, Optimus Prime took the lead.

After a while on the road, Kiara looked up and saw smoke trails in the sky. That was nothing new, but about three of them in the foothills of Colorado was a little odd. Suddenly, there was a crash in front of her, and she screamed. A huge, amorphous yellow mass landed directly in front of Optimus Prime. He braked and swerved, and the other Autobots screeched to a halt. Arcee was too close to the front, and had to transform to keep Heather safe.

An odd jet hovered in front of the yellow mass. It transformed into a huge, formidable-looking Cybertronian. From the look in his eyes, Kiara knew he wasn't friendly. He kicked the yellow mass out of the way, and Optimus transformed to meet him.

Kiara heard Jazz call Base on his con-link, "Ratchet, we need backup."

"Hello, Optimus Prime," the new 'con sneered. "I'd hoped this worthless mass of gold would crush you, but I had no such luck."

"Megatron," Prime replied, "are you here to take what we came for?"

"I sensed its presence the minute it left that horrible base." The tension was thick enough to cut with an energon sword, and Kiara placed a protective hand over the Cube. "Now, are you going to hand it over, or are we going to do this the hard way?" The whole Decepticon army came up behind him and transformed. The Autobots did the same, and the humans were herded behind the bulk of Ironhide.

Prowl leaned in close to them, "If Ratchet gets the ground bridge up in time, get behind Blurr and Mirage and don't stray from them. They'll be your bodyguards. If not, Ironhide and I will alternate." The humans all nodded, and Ironhide put himself between them and the Decepticons. Kiara kept a tight grip on the Allspark.

"You'll never get the Allspark, Megatron," Optimus looked primed for battle.

"Then it's the hard way," Megatron smiled malevolently. "Decepticons, attack!"


	18. Chapter 18

**18**

"For spark's sake, Stalk! I needed that sparkplug five minutes ago!" Ratchet roared across the base. The white and silver femme raced out of the hall, her arms filled with scrap metal.

She laid it at the med-bot's feet and glared at him, "Sorry your high and clunkiness."

"Don't back-talk me!" Ratchet warned. "Or I'll smack you around until your circuits spin." He flipped his hand, transforming it into blowtorch.

Blurr raced around the base, arranging things so some 'bots wouldn't step on them. Bulkhead and Grimlock were both helping to haul heavy pieces of metal, and Grimlock was welding large pieces of metal together with his fire breath. Strike and Mirage were grabbing pieces of metal and holding them for Ratchet or Grimlock to weld. They were also there to do whatever else. Stalk and Ratchet were rubbing each other the wrong way fast, but both of them, oddly, seemed to enjoy it as well.

"Are we close?" Strike asked, holding two larger pieces together for him to weld.

Ratchet wheeled himself out from under it and sighed, "I think so." He paused for a moment, then, "Yes, Jazz?" He listened, and then cursed. "They're being attacked by Decepticons!"

"What?"

"Grimlock kill Decepticons!" the large dino-bot stepped forward and crushed a cylindrical piece of metal.

"Grimlock, I needed that!" Ratchet bellowed. The dino-bot cringed and mumbled an apology. Ratchet picked up the crushed piece of metal and sighed, "This was to be the core of the ground bridge, and I'm _still_ not done with the frame!" He turned, "Stalk, I need you to rebuild this. I trust you, you know what to do. Blurr, Strike, help her." All three of them saluted, and Stalk took the core, walked to the other side of the room, and began grabbing pieces of scrap metal she needed.

Suddenly, a crash pierced their audio receptors. Ratchet turned in horror to see that the control unit to the ground bridge had collapsed. Ratchet clenched his hands, walked over to the wall, and punched it with all his might. The stone crumbled to dust where he had touched it. "Slag it all to Unicron!" The room fell silent.

He then spun around, his optics flaming. "Bulkhead, you're with me at the control center. Blurr, I need you too. Mirage, you know how to build a space bridge tunnel. Get Grimlock to help you." Everyone nodded. "We don't have much time, 'bots. Hurry!"

"Let's do this!" Strike said. "Our friends need us. Let's show those Decepticons whose boss!" The band of Autobots shouted in approval went to work.

* * *

"Autobots, attack!" Optimus roared. The two factions raced towards each other with incredible speed. Some jets were already in the air for the Decepticons, but the Autobots had no one.

Optimus Prime unsheathed his arm swords as he headed for Megatron. The Decepticon leader veered to the left and was instantly replaced by Starscream. The Decepticon lieutenant was thrust upward by an uppercut from Prime, and landed on top of Sideways. The battle had begun.

Soundwave had managed to wake a bunch of Decepticon drones from stasis, and about six of them, along with Ravage and Rumble, were surrounding Ironhide and Prowl. Prowl and Ironhide were protecting the humans, and Kiara was hunched over the Allspark, glaring at the Decepticons. The drones advanced, and Ironhide let loose with a stream of machine gun fire. Drones fell and drones ducked. Prowl hit Rumble with both of his ninja stars, and the con collapsed onto one knee. Ravage jumped at the ninja-bot, but Prowl was able to evade the mini-con. He grabbed his ninja stars just as Ravage jumped on him again.

Jazz and Arcee were fighting back to back. Blitzwing, Starscream and Cruellock were closing in on them. "Why did we leave or best fighters at base?" Arcee whispered. "They're about an hour away."

"What?" Jazz retorted, "I'm not a good fighter?"

Arcee looked at the ground and fell silent.

"Enough talk," tough Blitzwing growled. "More breaking your limbs."

Arcee came up, grabbed his head, and gave Blitzwing a hard knee to the chin. Blitzwing's heads spun, landing on crazy-face. "Why you little-" he transformed into a tank and shot at her. She dodged a couple shots and jumped onto his cannon, pulling it backwards.

Jazz was hitting Cruellock fast in sensitive places on his armor while also trying to avoid Starscream. He was doing pretty well until Starscream caught him with a punch to the jaw. Jazz reeled back, and the two came towards him. "Arcee!" he called desperately, holding out his hands. Arcee jumped off and grabbed Jazz's outstretched hands. He swung her in a circle, and she gave Starscream a kick in the face that sent him flying back. She hit Cruellock in the leg, and he teetered for a moment. Jazz brought her around in one more circle, flung his hands upward, and let go. Arcee flew high, came down hard, and hit Cruellock in the head, crumpling the leg she had hit. She landed gracefully, and gave Jazz a solid high five. They quickly jumped opposite ways, though, as Blitzwing fired at them.

"Prime!" Skidplate called as he blocked Wolfstrider's wicked claws. He was right next to the Autobot leader, who was beating down on Sideways and Soundwave with his extendable ax. "We need more help. Where are the others?"

"If I know Ratchet, on their way," Prime answered, hitting Sideways' legs out from under him. The silver con collapsed and tried to scramble away, and Soundwave had completely disappeared.

"We need more help," Skidplate placed a well aimed kick into Wolfstrider's chest, and she staggered back.

"You think I don't know that?" Optimus smacked a drone in the back of the head and sliced him down the middle. "Ratchet is doing his be-" Prime was cut off as he was tackled from behind.

"Prime!" Skidplate yelled as his leader fell. His legs were swept out from under him and he collapsed onto the ground. A foot planted itself on his back, and Wolfstrider's voice came close to his head.

"Don't worry about your leader," she hissed. "Megatron is taking good care of him."

"Megatron!" Skidplate struggled under his opponent's foot.

"Pity," Wolfstrider tapped her claws on his forehead, "I wanted a calmer toy."

"Eat my fumes, Decepticreep!" Skidplate challenged.

Wolfstrider's face came close to his own, a wolfish smile on her face, "I'd like to see you try."

Optimus Prime was hit from behind, and faintly heard Skidplate scream. He was flipped over by a firm hand, and a large silver foot planted itself on his chest. "Megatron," he hissed, "always one for a blow beneath the belt."

A face appeared above the leg. "You know me too well, Optimus," he hissed. His sword hung by his side. "It's going to be so fulfilling to see the light die in your eyes," he cradled his sword. "Don't worry; I'm going to make this as slow and painful as possible." Megatron lowered his sword towards Prime's neck. Optimus braced for the pain about to come.


	19. Chapter 19

**19**

Suddenly, Optimus heard a sound like a yell and or a jet, and the weight was lifted off of him. Strike, in his jet form, had blasted through the ground bridge as it opened. He flew through the air at Megatron, caught him in the chest, and flung him across the battlefield. Strike transformed and helped Optimus up.

"Thanks," Prime replied. He looked over at the ground bridge where Ratchet, Stalk, Bulkhead, Grimlock, Blurr, and Mirage had just emerged from. "Took you long enough," Prime grinned.

"We had some…setbacks, but got it running in time," Ratchet replied.

"Autobots," Optimus ordered, "charge!" The whole of the Autobot force charged towards the Decepticons, with the exception of Blurr and Mirage who were watching the humans.

Starscream instantly went towards the humans, but was knocked back by a hard elbow to the face from Mirage. Blurr had his crossbow out and was shooting at any Decepticons that got close, and Mirage finished them off. Heather, Bruce, and Kiara were cheering them on.

Prowl had managed to get Ravage off and kick the mini-con across the field. Now he faced down five drones. He used his ninja stars to cut them up, and broke them even further with his punches and kicks.

Bulkhead and Ironhide were back to back, facing off against Blackout and Blitzblade. Ironhide let off a barrage of cannon fire, and Bulkhead used his wrecking ball to bash up Blackout. Blackout dodged to one side, but was met with Bulkhead's other fist. Blitzblade and Ironhide were exchanging blows, an optic for an optic. Both looked determined, but they were also wearing down. Bulkhead and Ironhide spun 180 degrees, so each could wail on the other Decepticon.

Barricade and Skidplate were having an old-fashioned stare-down. "Well, I didn't expect to see you here, brother," Barricade hissed.

"Nor I you," Skidplate replied stiffly.

"Let's get this over with," Barricade smirked. He launched himself at Skidplate. Skidplate ducked and pulled out his sword, thrusting it upward. It buried itself in Barricade's abdomen, and Barricade landed hard on his bumpers. He pulled out the sword, and energon gushed out. Barricade put his hand over the wound, and chucked the sword at Skidplate. Skidplate caught the hilt of it and rushed in for more.

Jazz and Bumblebee were fighting side-by-side against Wolfstrider and Shredder. Jazz would bash the mini-con, and Bee would shoot at Wolfstrider. She would return the favor, and while Bee dodged, Jazz shot back at her. She came after Jazz with her claws; But Bee shot her in the hand and sent her spinning.

Grimlock and Cruellock were facing off one on one. "Me, Grimlock, crush bad dino-bot, Cruellock," Grimlock growled.

"You, Grimlock, will be the one crushed. I will be victorious!"

"Me, Grimlock, destroy!" Grimlock lunged forward and locked his jaws around Cruellock's neck. Cruellock roared and began bashing Grimlock with his tail. Finally, both of them transformed and began clashing blades with each other. Cruellock caught Grimlock across the midsection, leaving a good gash. Grimlock roared and charged at Cruellock, getting in a few good blows.

Diamondshard and Ratchet were two medics on opposing sides. Diamondshard shot missiles out, and the Autobot medic dodged out of the way. He flipped his hand into a surgical blade and slashed at her. She dodged, and hit Ratchet square in the stomach. He doubled over and flipped his hand into a blowtorch and shoved it towards her. She screamed as her rotors and missile launchers were partially melted. She hit him right in the face and ran off. Ratchet pushed himself up from the ground, feeling proud. He flipped his torch back into a hand and went to find out if anyone needed assistance.

Sideswipe and Sideways were exchanging blows like mad for a while. Then, Sideways jumped back and shot plasma blasts at Sideswipe. Sideswipe dodged, but was hit in the leg. His leg was shot back and partially disconnected from his hip. He collapsed, waiting for Sideways to finish him off. Suddenly, Prowl came out of nowhere and kicked Sideways in the head. The Decepticon went flying, and Sideswipe looked up gratefully at Prowl. Prowl picked up Sideswipe and ran through the battlefield towards Ratchet. Jazz, Ironhide, and Mirage were already there. Prowl left him there and went back into battle.

Strike, in jet form, flew at Starscream's jet form and knocked him out of the sky. The Decepticon lieutenant spiraled for a couple seconds and then transformed, climbing back into the sky. He shot at Strike, but he easily dodged the blasts and returned the favor. Strike transformed and shot at Starscream's rockets. He took out one, and Starscream spiraled to the ground. He landed with a thud that sounded pretty soft from where Strike was.

Arcee and Stalk were waiting for the trouble-makers, Soundwave and Blitzwing, to strike. When they did, they did it swiftly. Soundwave shot plasma blasts at Arcee, and she dodged them as best she could. She slipped once, and one blast caught her on the shoulder. She ran up and caught Soundwave right under the jaw. He staggered back, and came back at her. She dodged some of his slower blows, but his faster blows caught her off guard. Her shoulder weakened her, and she was shot back across the battlefield.

Stalk yelled to Skidplate to get Arcee out of here as she clashed blades with Blitzwing. His crazy face was steady and cackling. They exchanged blows quickly, sword to staff. It was harder for Stalk because she was a full head shorter than him. "This has been fun little Autobot, but I have to finish you now," he grinned maniacally, raising his sword. Stalk charged her staff with electricity and shoved it into his chest. He lit up like the sun, and his heads spun so fast that Stalk's processor began to spin. She pulled it out, and Blitzwing teetered. Finally, he fell stiffly backwards, and Stalk raced to join Ratchet.

Optimus and Megatron were facing each other in the middle of the battlefield. Both of them were fighting with swords, and once in a while using their blasters. After a while, Megatron just needed one chance to get at the Allspark, and he got it. Optimus planted his foot on an unstable rock, and it slid out from under him. He lost his balance for only a second, but that was enough. Megatron elbowed Optimus Prime out of the way and charged towards the humans.

Blurr had been trying to get the humans out of the way of the battle. He had already gotten Bruce and Heather out of there, but Kiara and the Allspark were still to go. He was still a ways away when Megatron reached her.

Kiara showed a lot of courage for a human. Megatron crouched down, holding out a claw to her. "Give me the Allspark, human!"

Kiara held it tighter and turned slightly away, like a child hoarding a toy. "Not while I'm still alive."

Megatron slammed the ground with a fist, "I won't warn you again!"

Kiara stood there for a moment, and dug deep inside. "Get fragged, Megadork," she sneered, and threw the Allspark towards Optimus.

"No!" Megatron roared and leapt towards it, missing it by inches. Optimus, with an outstretched hand, caught the Allspark and clenched it in his fist. Megatron stood up to face the Autobot leader.

Optimus seemed to draw power from the Allspark. His optics glowed more intensely, and the fist with the Allspark was lit up. Optimus transformed one of his hands into a gun and shot twice at Megatron. The first caught his face and ripped part of it off. The second hit his leg and tore most of it off. Optimus advanced, and punched Megatron in the chest with the Allspark fist. A shockwave seemed to ripple outward from the impact point, and Megatron was thrown backwards. His chest was ripped up, and he looked nearly offline.

Megatron mustered up all of his strength and bellowed, "Decepticons, retreat!" Soundwave hurried up to Megatron and carried him off. Some Decepticons needed help leaving the battleground, and some didn't leave it at all. The rest were fine.

Optimus stood tall in the middle of the battlefield. Jazz came up behind him, nervously. "Is it over?" he asked.

"Yes, Jazz," Optimus replied, opening his fist and looking down at the Allspark. "It's over, for now."


	20. Chapter 20

**20**

Kiara waited patiently, swinging her legs back and forth. She was seated on the new couch that was now part of a menagerie of human and bot-sized furniture that now decorated L3 of the Base. Heather, Bruce, and Nick were seated across from her, and the Allspark was sitting next to her.

After the battle, Ratchet had insisted that the injured Autobots be treated immediately, before L5 was fixed up to hold the Allspark. The Autobots were now fixing it up, with the exception of Ironhide and Strike, who were rough-housing upstairs.

"Well, at least it's over," Nick said, trying to break the silence.

"Hardly," Strike said, coming out of the elevator with Ironhide. "He'll be back. It just might take him a while to get back on his feet." Everyone chuckled.

"Optimus was a little scary like that," Heather stated.

"He's been through so much," Ironhide sat down next to Heather, "and he just wants this war to end. He doesn't want to lose anymore Autobots."

"That makes sense."

"Starscream's such a wimp," Strike changed the subject.

"Does he always wear stiletto heels?" Heather giggled.

"Ever since I've known him," Strike grinned.

Suddenly, Optimus appeared in the down elevator and motioned for them to get inside. Kiara grabbed the Allspark and everyone piled into the elevator. As it descended, it went dark for a moment and then lightened up. When the elevator doors opened, they all got out and looked at the object in the middle of the ring of Autobots.

It was a pedestal made of blue-gray metal. It looked like it would store whatever energy bursts the Allspark might emit. Also, it would help to power all the machinery in the base that Ratchet and the other Autobots would need.

Optimus leaned down and placed his hand on the floor, "Kiara, if you would."

Kiara smiled and stepped onto his hand. The Autobot leader lifted her level to the pedestal. She set it into its cradle, and it unfolded to fit it. Optimus put her back onto the ground and smiled.

"All is well, for now at least," Mirage grinned.

"The Allspark is out of Decepticon hands, and Megatron is out of commission for a while," Optimus stated.

"All is well, for now at least," Mirage repeated.

The Autobots and humans all piled into the elevator to go mingle. Kiara took one last look at the Allspark, and shoved herself in next to Prowl and Blurr. As the elevator lifted, so did her spirits.

* * *

**Hey guys, don't forget to check out the sequel to this:**

**-A Time for Reflection**

**And the prequel:**

**-Cybertron Chronicles: Darkness Rising**

**Thanks for reading!**


	21. Halloween Special Chapter!

**Hey everyone! Please enjoy this fun chapter added to _A Time for Courage._ The Autobots enjoy their first Halloween, so enjoy with them!**

* * *

**Special Chapter: Halloween Special!**

"Just a little higher!" Kiara called down to Bumblebee. He obliged by lifting her higher on his hand. She gave him the thumbs up sign and began to string up some orange and black lights on the ceiling. Heather was doing the same in Bee's other hand, and Arcee was also stringing up Halloween lights.

"So," Bulkhead asked Bruce, who was working on his costume, "what is Hallows eve?"

"Halloween," Bruce corrected. "Hallows eve is the night before, which would be yesterday night. On Halloween you go door to door in a costume, say trick or treat, and you get free candy."

"Sounds like fun!" Bulkhead said. "Of course, we don't eat anything, including candy." Bruce shrugged.

"We're good!" Heather called down to Bee.

"Alright," Bee replied and set the two humans down on the ground. Heather flicked on the power and a jack 'o lantern made from the black and orange lights began to glow on the ceiling of the Autobot bunker. "Pretty," Bumblebee breathed.

"So, what are we going to do?" Bruce asked Kiara. "The Autobots can't exactly go door to door in costumes."

"True," she mused.

Before she could say anything more, though, something jumped out of the shadows of the bunker and yelled, "Boo!" Kiara, Heather, and Bruce jumped back and screamed. Then, Kiara stopped and looked at the 'bot. Blurr took off his cape and smiled.

"Holy insert swear word here, Blurr. You almost gave me heart attack," Kiara gasped, clutching her chest.

"You almost gave me a spark attack," Bumblebee fell backwards dramatically.

Kiara laughed, "As I was saying, I have a different idea about what to do this Halloween. Follow me!" She tapped Jazz's shin and he transformed. She slid into the driver's seat and began to drive off. The other Autobots transformed and followed with Heather and Bruce in tow.

A little while later they arrived at the exact place in the forest where the Cybertronians and humans had first met. Kiara parked Jazz, got out, and he transformed once more. She went to gather wood and began to make a fire while the others caught up. Eventually she had a good sized fire made, and everyone gathered around it.

"So, what is it we are doing?" Optimus asked.

Kiara smiled evilly, "We're going to tell horror stories. Who's first?"

Ironhide raised his hand, "I was surrounded by forty 'cons and I had no backup. I called for some, but it didn't come until later."

"Oh, please Ironhide," Sideswipe groaned. "Not that story again. We've heard it countless times, and it's not a horror story."

"I have one," Prowl said, and everyone drew closer to him.

Ironhide pushed himself up to his feet, "I'll be right back."

Strike stood too, "I'll do the same." He walked in the opposite direction that Ironhide went. The Autobots and humans hurried to fill their places.

"Alright," Prowl shifted position a little and stared into the fire, "here's how it starts.

"You all know the story of Primus and Unicron, right?" Everyone nodded eagerly. "Okay. This is a story of one of their untold battles."

Bruce raised his voice a little, "Then how do you know-"

"Shhhhhhh," everyone hissed fiercely. Bruce fell silent.

"As I was saying, this was the battle over the Allspark. Both of them wanted it, Primus for good, and Unicron for evil. They had been fighting for centuries, and both were beginning to tire. 'Give me the cube, Primus,' Unicron growled in a voice like gravel.

" 'Never,' Primus said, taking one more swing at Unicron. Unicron cried out as his leg fell off. He grabbed it up and retreated.

"Unicron retreated and looked at his leg. With it he fashioned three more sentient beings, and gave them life with a shard of the cube he had managed to take. 'You,' he told them, 'are my new followers. You are called Decepticons.'

"Now Primus did the same thing, and called his beings Autobots. He needed more fighting power, for he was growing weak. He gave them the strength of circuits and pureness of spark. Primus had more of the cube, and it was not contaminated with the darkness of Unicron's spark.

"When they met in battle once more, Primus became furious at Unicron for using the cube for the wrong purposes. He and the Autobots struck down Unicron and the Decepticons. Unicron begged for mercy, but Primus refused. 'You would do no such thing to me, brother.' Primus took up his hammer and whacked Unicron into deep space. A piece of Unicron's spark broke off and fell onto his cube fragment. Primus picked it up, brushed off the fragment, and looked at his Autobots. 'You will be the new race. Carry on my legacy.' With that he gave the cube to those three Autobots, and transformed into the planet Cybertron we know today. The Decepticons were gone until Megatron rose again."

Prowl's eyes darkened, "It is said that Unicron's darkness dispersed itself into the cube, and only shows itself on rare occasions in Cybertronians. It is also said that Unicron wanders the galaxy, looking for the followers of Primus, and the Autobots who took him down." Prowl smiled evilly.

Suddenly, something moved in the bushes and jumped out, its red eyes glowing. Everyone screamed, transformed, scrambled into a vehicle, and sped away. Prowl began to laugh, and the figure stepped out of the darkness. Strike was laughing heartily and switched his lenses back to a blue-purple color. "Boy," he laughed, "am I glad Ratchet kept that lens color in me."

"Good one, Strike!" Prowl clutched his sides. Then, they went silent. Something was moving behind Strike. A new pair of red lenses appeared, giving off an angry glare. Strike and Prowl jumped, but said nothing. They transformed and burned rubber back to base.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, in a mirror of the movements Strike had done earlier. Ironhide pulled the mask from his face and watched them mournfully. "Come on guys! I've worked on this mask all week. Don't leave me in the dust. Come on!" Ironhide stamped out the fire, transformed, and chased after the fleeing Autobots.


End file.
